Mackenzie Hughes dubs his debut Presidents Cup round ‘one of the funniest days’ on course

Modified Sep 28, 2024 11:16 GMT

GOLF: SEP 27 Presidents Cup - Source: Getty — Mackenzie Hughes (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Mackenzie Hughes is currently competing at the 2024 Presidents Cup. The biennial tournament between the US and the International team is being held at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal, Quebec.

Hughes is playing his first Presidents Cup. The two-time PGA Tour winner didn't compete on Day 1 of the fourball matches. He was paired with Corey Conners in the foursome matches on Friday, 27 September. The duo went against Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau.

Hughes and Conners won the match on the 13th hole by 6 up with five holes remaining. After the match, Hughes said, via PGA Tour:

"I just want to get the energy going and you know that was kind of my goal yesterday and today I got to play some shots and play with an amazing partner and a great friend and Corey and this is one of the highlights of my life right here. This is one of the funnest days I've ever had in the golf course."

Hughes and Conners took the lead on the first hole. They extended the lead with another birdie on the second. Talking about birdie on the second hole, Hughes said, via ASAP Sports:

"Honestly, I actually felt quite good after the 1st hole. I hit a very average approach shot on the 1st hole, and my partner lagged it up there really close, which I think kind of eased my nerves a little bit. Then, yeah, the putt on 2 kind of felt like that was my first big step of the day. Yeah, from there, I felt quite good."

They scored four more birdies on the 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th holes to make the lead 6 Up. The US duo of Clark and Finau won only one hole i.e., par-5 12th. The International team scored another birdie on the 13th hole and won the match.

The international team won all five matches on Friday and leveled the tournament 5-all after losing all five matches on Thursday. Let's take a look at the results of Friday's foursomes matches at the 2024 Presidents Cup:

Match 6

Hideki Matsuyama / Sungjae Im vs Patrick Cantlay / Xander Schauffele
Result: International Team wins 7 & 6

Match 7

Adam Scott / Taylor Pendrith vs Sahith Theegala / Collin Morikawa
Result: International Team wins 5 & 4

Match 8

Christiaan Bezuidenhout / Jason Day vs Max Homa / Brian Harman
Result: International Team wins 1 UP

Match 9

Corey Conners / Mackenzie Hughes vs Wyndham Clark / Tony Finau
Result: International Team wins 6 & 5

Match 10

Si Woo Kim / Byeong Hun An vs Scottie Scheffler / Russell Henley
Result: International Team wins 1 UP

"Corey Conners is a dream alternate-shot partner": Mackenzie Hughes after winning a match at the Presidents Cup

Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners won their match against the US Team. The International team pair won with a comfortable lead of 6 & 5. In the post-match press conference, Hughes praised Conners and said, via ASAP Sports:

"Yeah, I definitely said this numerous times today already, but Corey is the absolute dream alternate-shot partner. You always felt like he had your back, and not just as a friend, but just his game is so solid that you always had that guy behind you."

The International team lost all five matches on Day 1 of the Presidents Cup and were trailing 0-5 going into Day 2. They rebounded with five wins on Friday and have leveled the scores. Hughes said:

"Yeah, just the most unbelievable day. We had a great feeling coming into the day, and I felt like all the guys were believing. Obviously to go 5-0 is a bonus, but we knew what we were capable of and went out and did it."

Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners are paired together for Saturday's fourball matches. They will go against Tony Finau and Xander Schauffele. Let's take a look at tee times and the matchups for Saturday's four-ball matches:

Match 11